2018 Buick Enclave Spotted During Test Run in Death Valley

Sep 12, 2016 06:20 AM EDT | Irene Cabrera

The Buick Enclave is one of the oldest models of General Motors (GM) at nine years old, but the latest set of spy photos sees the possibility that the vehicle might be getting a heavy upgrade.

The car manufacturing company, which went bankrupt in 2009, appears to be turning its mainstay vehicles into a more athletic vehicle and will come with a sharper exterior redesign. It will most likely be released sometime in mid-2017 as a 2018 model.

The 2018 Buick Enclave is expected to arrive on a brand new lighter platform. It will have a nine-speed automatic transmission, as well as GM's new 3.6-liter V-6 engine serving as the base engine of the vehicle, followed by the reveal of the Traverse.

The recent set of photos of the heavily-camouflaged Buick Enclave undergoing an upgrade, testing and redesign in Death Valley were taken below sea level.

While the vehicle's badging, headlights, taillights and hood were covered during the testing, the website asserted that the car being tested was indeed the Buick, basing on its circular outline on the grille, as well as its shining five running LED lights and waterfall grille for the world to see.

First unveiled in 2008, the Enclave shares similarities with the Chevrolet Traverse and the GMC Acadia. The 2018 model version is most likely to obtain a stretched version of the three-row Chi platform.

Just last month, its predecessor - the 2017 Buick Enclave - received the highest five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, earning five stars for the front and side crash tests as well as four stars for the rollover crash test.

Stability and traction controls, seven airbags (consisting of a front-center airbag and side curtain airbags for all rows) and a rearview camera are just some of the vehicle's standard safety features, according to Edmunds.com.

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